Prospect Talent Score

Probability of Success

History

2007-08: Maxim Chudinov further built on his success, spending more time with the professional team, though still remaining in a limited role. Beyond competition within Russia, Chudinov also has been a long time member of Team Russia, skating for the 1990 born team on many occasions. Considering his style of play and maturity level, the young blueliner has also not been a stranger to skating on teams from older age groups, including one tournament on an 89 born team and finally his solid performance on the U20 1988 born squad at the Canada-Russia Super Series and at the U20 World Junior Championships. At the Super Series he was one of the few players who impressed, despite the unfortunate late hit incident, with their competitive spirit and aggressive lively play.

2008-09: Chudinov appeared in 26 KHL games for Cherepovets Severstal while competing for the team’s junior club. The 17-year-old averaged just over ten minutes of ice time and had no points and was -6 with 14 PMs. Cheropovets finished 17th in the 24-team league. Chudinov had five assists and was +4 with 6 PMs in seven games for the bronze medal-winning Russian team at the 2009 World Junior U-20 championships.

2009-10: Chudinov appeared in 47 games for Cherepovets Severstal in his first full KHL season. He scored 6 goals with 7 assists and was -9 with 30 PMs while averaging over 18 minutes of ice time per game. Cheropovets finished fifth in the six-team Tarasov Division in the re-aligned KHL. Chudinov scored 2 goals with 2 assists and was +2 with 6 PMs in six games for sixth-place Russia at the 2010 World Junior U-20 championships.

2010-11: Chudinov was a workhorse for Cherepovets in his second KHL season, averaging over 20 minutes of ice time per game. In 52 games, he scored 8 goals with 15 assists and was +6 with 30 PMs as Cherepovets topped the 30-win mark and finished third in the Tarasov Division.

2011-12: Chudinov played a key role for Severstal Cherepovets in Russia in his third KHL season, finishing as the club’s second-leading scorer while averaging over 23 minutes of ice time per game. He scored 9 goals with 26 assists and was plus-eight with 62 penalty minutes (all career highs) in 52 games. Cherepovets finished third in the Tarasov Division and in six playoff games Chudinov was plus-two with 2 assists and 10 penalty minutes. In May 2012 he signed a KHL contract to play for SKA St. Petersburg in 2012-13.

2012-13: Chudinov went from Severstal to SKA St. Petersburg in his fourth KHL season and played for Russia in nine Europe Trophy games. In 47 games for the Bobrov Division’s top team he scored 2 goals with 8 assists and was +7 with 46 penalty minutes. SKA reached the West Conference finals against eventual KHL champion Dynamo Moscow. Chudinov scored 1 goal with 1 assist and was +6 with 6 penalty minutes in 12 playoff games. In nine games for Team Russia he had 1 assist and was +1 with 6 penalty minutes.

2013-14: Chudinov had his best two-way season in his fifth KHL season as SKA St. Petersburg finished first in the Bobrov Division under Finnish coach Jukka Jalonen and reached the second round in the playoffs. He finished the year skating for the gold medal-winning Russia squad at the 2014 World Championship. Chudinov scored 7 goals with 11 assists and was a career-best +30 with 44 penalty minutes, averaging 21:29 minutes of ice time in 50 regular season game. He had 1 assist and was +1 with 11 penalty minutes in 10 playoff games. He had 1 assist and was +1 with 4 penalty minutes in 10 games for Russia, which defeated Finland, 5-2, in the gold medal game.

Talent Analysis

Chudinov is a hard-nosed, puck-moving defenseman. Short but stocky and powerful, he relishes the physical game and uses his low center of gravity to his advantage similar to former NHL’er and fellow Russian Darius Kasparitis. He is an excellent skater and has both mobility and speed which he uses to compensate for his lack of height and wingspan. He has some real offense to his game as well, making smart decisions on the breakout, joining the rush and supporting the attack, and has a knack for slipping coverage and getting open around the tops of circles. He’s been a leader for his KHL team in terms of points and ice time.

Future

Chudinov skated for SKA St. Petersburg and recently completed his seventh pro season in Russia in 2014-15. He has established himself as one of the KHL's better defensemen and is nearing his prime as he will be 25 years old at the end of March 2015. At this point Chudinov does not appear interested in playing in North America, particularly if he would have to play in the AHL before joining the Bruins. The reported financial troubles of the KHL might entice him to re-consider his options. He would likely require time to adapt to the smaller rinks and tighter checking game in the NHL but projects as a solid two-way defender.

Photo: Lokomotiv Yaroslavl defenseman and Calgary Flames prospect Rushan Rafikov was part of a Team Russia defensive unit that was very effective at the 2015 World Junior Championship (courtesy of Aaron Bell/OHL Images)

The exodus of young Russian players to the CHL didn’t leave many prospects of note in the KHL, especially when discussing defensemen, the type of players Russian hockey is having the hardest time developing, especially at depth level.Read more»

Photo: Defenseman Zach Trotman was recently recalled to the NHL from the Providence Bruins. Trotman was seventh round pick from the 2010 NHL Draft. (courtesy of Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire)

The Boston Bruins strength at the NHL level has always been down the middle and that is no different in their prospect system. The Bruins helped filled out some issues on the wing during the 2014 NHL Draft this past summer with first round pick David Pastrnak, but still remain thin along the boards.

Photo: Aleksander Barkov leads the Florida system. The rookie center scored eight goals and 24 points in 54 NHL games before suffering a knee injury at the Olympics (courtesy of Joel Auerbach/Getty Images)

Below is the 11-­30 segment of the Hockey's Future 2014 Spring NHL Team Rankings. The teams are ranked in terms of the quality of their overall prospect pool as voted on by members of the HF staff. For reference, just the top five prospects are listed. To be eligible, a prospect must meet HF's prospect criteria. The ranking is done twice a year, with this edition being an update to the Fall ranking. Each team’s Fall ranking is listed in parenthesis next to their Spring ranking.

Photo: Goaltender Zane Gothberg had a breakout year with North Dakota, posting a 20-10-3 record en route to an appearance in the 2014 Frozen Four. Gothberg was selected in the sixth round of the 2010 NHL Draft. (courtesy of Richard T. Gagnon/Getty Images)

The Boston Bruins have most of their prime prospects playing at the professional level in North America, but there are still a few prominent names that are currently playing in Europe or at the collegiate level.